Amish Book - "Driving the Back Roads"

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DISCOVER THE ANSWERS TO THE RIDDLES OF THE AMISH CULTURE IN THIS CHRISTIAN BOOK.

The author, Reynold Kremer, gives an insight into the fascinating world of the Amish, Hutterites, and Old Order Mennonites. This is a great Christian book for pastors, teachers, church libraries, and interested members. Here you will find the answers to the puzzle of the Amish as you explore their Anabaptist history, their family lives, and their religion.

"Mr. Kremer makes it clear that religion and life are inseparable for these people. Not only does he give us a healthy appreciation for their everyday lives, he examines the faith upon which they build their lives. This book is a pleasure to read.”

Prof. James F. Korthals, Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary, Mequon , WI

Amish Book Table of Contents

Chapter 1: The Radical Reformers

The Reformation Climate and Martin Luther

The Swiss Reformation

Anabaptism Is Born

The Martyrs

Chapter 2: Anabaptist Foundations

A Change of Life

The Schleitheim Articles

The Dordrecht Confession of Faith

Methods of Evangelism

Chapter 3: A Home for the Hutterites

A Fascinating History

The Hutterite Life

Hutterite Worship

The Dining Hall

Hutterite Education

Hutterite Farming and Commerce

Hutterite Women

Courtship and Marriage

The Hutterite Family

Sports and Leisure

Hutterite Dress

Hutterites Today

Chapter 4: Menno Simons Takes Over

Mayhem at Muenster

Menno Simons Takes Control

William Penn's Holy Experiment

A Dangerous Journey

The Mennonites Today

Old Order Mennonites

Moderate Mennonites

Main Body of the Mennonite Church

The German Baptist Brethren

Chapter 5: Amish Riddles

Jacob Ammann Disagrees

Gelassenheit

The Ordnung

No Telephone

No Cars

No Electricity

Chapter 6: The Amish at Worship

The Church District

The Worship Service

The Singing

The Communion Service and Foot Washing

Choosing Bishops, Ministers and Deacons

Amish Divisions

Old Order Amish

New Order Amish

Beachy Amish

Amish Mennonites

Chapter 7: Within the Amish Community

Birth

Education

Rumspringa

Courtship and Dating

Baptism

Weddings

The Grandpa House

Chapter 8: Amish Traditions

Dress
1. Children's Clothes 2. Women's Wardrobe 3. Clothing for Men

Sewing and Quilting

Diet

Barn Raisings

Language

Amish Names

The Horse and Buggy

Chapter 9: An Amish Day

A Day of Honest Housework

Farming and Lunch-pail Work

Recreation and Relaxation

Health

Folk Medicine

Hospital Treatment

Hereditary Diseases

Mental Illness

Funerals

Tourism

Chapter 10: Personal Reflections

It Seems So Good

All Is Not as It Seems

Problems with the Government

Too Difficult to Discuss

Never Certain of Salvation

God Is a Gracious God

Intimidation and Fear

God is a Loving God

Sharing with the Amish

Preface to "Driving the Back Roads"
Amish is a religion! The Amish clock did not simply stop ticking. Amish is a religion. The Amish people are not museum employees trying to show outsiders how things were done 100 years ago, nor are they entertainers like those who put on Civil War reenactments. Amish is a religion. Many tourists love to sneak photos of these unique people who seem so vulnerable and helpless. They are neither. They are a religion. The Amish do what they do for one reason only: it’s their religion. And they are not ashamed to let the world know that they are different. They are proud to be a people “in the world, but not of it.”

This is the study of a religion that began at the front door of a church in Wittenberg, Germany, where a young man named Luther nailed Ninety-five Theses. Lutherans, Reformed and Anabaptists grew out of that movement. We are about to focus especially on the Anabaptists and their descendants, the Hutterites, Mennonites and the Amish.

Many people enjoy the friendly shops, craft stores, restaurants and overall homey feeling they get when they visit Shipshewana, Indiana, or Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. These are fun and interesting places where millions of tourists walk the streets and sidewalks to contribute to the million dollar industry spawned by these Plain People. Few however take the time to learn much about them. Instead they just shrug their shoulders and admit that the sights are great, the products are well-made, but none of it makes any sense.

In this book we will find some answers to the whys and wherefores of these people. It is indeed a difficult puzzle to piece together, but if we look at the puzzle pieces one by one, we begin to see what it is that makes this culture exist as it does.

Thoughout this book I have attempted to treat these people with utmost Christian respect. The Plain People deserve neither ridicule nor stoning, nor even odd looks. Instead we must begin to understand them in order to see their ways and their faith. Only then can we respond.

I would like to give special thanks to author Ruth Irene Garrett, for the valuable time she spent with me. Thanks to Ruth and her husband Ottie, I was able to ask the tough questions that only a former Amish person could answer. Ruth left her Amish home in Iowa to marry an "English" man. As a result she was excommunicated (by her bishop uncle), and shunned. Her candid answers to a multitude of questions gave me insights that no books could have. To Ruth and her husband I am most indebted.

I would also like to offer special thanks to Pastor Reuben Kleinsasser and the people of the Springfield Hutterite Colony just outside Winnipeg, Canada, for the hospitable tour, dinner and personal “concert” they gave my wife Edith and me, and to Hutterite Pastor Edward (last name withheld) for kindly answering my questions and reviewing the chapter on the Hutterites. Thanks are also in order for John and Esther (last name withheld), an Amish couple in Indiana, who took time to show us their home-based business and graciously invited us into their home, and to Mennonite pastor Joseph Yoder, head curator of the Mennohof Museum in Shipshewana, Indiana, for sitting down with me and answering my many questions. Very special thanks also go to best-selling author Beverly Lewis who gave of her time to clarify a number of important points.

Now let’s jump into the car and head toward the back roads. Just maybe we’ll see one of those buggies clippety-clopping along the shoulder, or maybe we’ll happen to see an Amish woman hanging out her wash, or just maybe we’ll catch a glimpse of some Amish kids running barefoot on their way to school.